hankyoreh

Dec. 16. (KNCA/Yonhap News)

By Choi Hyun-june and Ha Eo-young, staff reporters

North and South Korea exchanged messages over the telephone in which they openly threatened to “attack” and “punish” each other on Dec. 19. In addition, various reports and analyses are emerging from inside North Korea that shed some light on the status of Vice Marshal Choi Ryong-hae following the execution of former Party administrative department head Jang Song-thaek.

North Korea’s National Defense Commission sent a message through the Panmunjeom telephone line to South Korea at 11 am warning that “a ruthless and merciless act of vengeance would take place in the middle of downtown Seoul without notice if [South Korea] repeated its enormous provocations against our ultimate dignity.” This last phrase refers to the three generations of the Kim Dynasty: Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, and Kim Jong-un.

North Korea had taken issue with conservative organizations in South Korea that burned the three North Korean leaders in effigy in downtown Seoul on Dec. 17, the second anniversary of the death of Kim Jong-il.

In response, the South Korean government held an emergency meeting of the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Unification, and other associated government bodies. Immediately after that, Seoul sent a message through the Panmunjeom line in response, which promised firm retaliation in the event of a North Korean provocation.

While the South Korean government did not make the content of the message public because it thought it should respond in a measured manner in case North Korea was engaging in psychological warfare, the content was published anyway in a report by the Joongang Ilbo on Dec. 20.

While it is not unusual for North Korea to make threatening remarks, this telephone message is notable as it marks the first one sent by the North’s National Defense Commission since South Korean President Park Geun-hye came to power. It is possible that this telephone message was intended to create the pretext for carrying out a provocation in the future. This suggests that North Korea could engage in provocative action against South Korea in order to secure internal solidarity following Jang’s execution.

Nevertheless, many analysts believe that, while North Korea may ratchet up tensions with Seoul, it would be rash to conclude that this will lead to an actual attack. Recently, the North Korean people have been subjected to ideological education, and officials have been vying to demonstrate their loyalty to leader Kim Jong-un. Analysts suggest that this telephone message could have emerged from this context.

“Competition to prove one’s loyalty appears to have heated up as officials try to distance themselves from Jang Song-thaek,” said Kim Ui-do, spokesperson for the Unification Ministry.

Defense Ministry spokesperson Kim Min-seok concurred, explaining in that day’s regular press briefing on that day that there had been no unusual movements in the North Korean military.

Measures were also taken to prevent the conflict between North and South Korea to escalate. The South Korean military announced on the same day that it had made its final decision not to light the Christmas tree at Aegibong this year. Aegibong is located on the front lines in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province near the DMZ. The army was concerned that lighting the tree might provoke the North.

The Chinese government also expressed its position on the matter. During the regular briefing of the Chinese foreign ministry, the spokesperson said, “We are following reports on this matter. China opposes any action that would damage the peace and stability on the Korean peninsula.”

In related news, North Korea has held up Choi Hyon, former defense minister of North Korea, as a paragon of a loyal subject after the purging of Jang Song-thaek. Choi is the father of Choi Ryong-hae, North Korean military Political Bureau chief.

In its Dec. 20 issue, the Rodong Sinmun ran a story on page two in which it mentioned Choi Hyon, praising him for having loyally supported Kim Jong-il, who was around his son’s age. This is being interpreted as suggesting that Choi Ryong-hae will play an even more important role in Kim Jong-un’s new regime since he is in the authentic bloodline of the anti-Japanese freedom fighters as well as the son of a loyal servant to the Kim family.

Saenuri Party (NFP) lawmaker An Hong-jun, chair of the Korean National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, said as much during a seminar that took place in the National Assembly on the same day.

“Choi Ryong-hae had Jang Song-thaek executed in a reverse coup,” An said. “It appears that Kim Jong-un is being treated as a symbolic god since he is part of the Baekdu bloodline, while Choi Ryong-hae is doing the actual work.”

North Korea’s official media - including the Rodong Sinmun newspaper, the Korean Central Television, and the Pyongyang Broadcasting Station - started calling Kim Jong-un “the great leader” for the first time on Dec. 19.

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